The Golden State Warriors are as mediocre as it gets in the Western Conference. 

While the Dubs could sneak their way into the postseason come April, they aren’t in a position to make a run to the NBA Finals. Could that change with the ideal blockbuster trade? 

Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley thinks so, as the notable NBA writer recently proposed a trade that would land the Warriors a former Denver Nuggets champion forward. 

“The Warriors clearly need to get Stephen Curry more scoring support, but they also have to be careful about forking over their entire future when they might be more than one trade away from title contention,” Buckley wrote Thursday. “This feels like the right tight rope to traverse.”

“(Michael) Porter is a top-shelf shot-maker (career 49.9/40.6/79.9 slash), and his shooting threat is potent enough to pull attention away from Curry and Jimmy Butler. Plus, for a 25-point scorer who’s essentially hitting half of his field goals and 40% of his threes, Porter should be relatively reasonably priced in a trade.”

“Between him and (Haywood) Highsmith, a sturdy three-and-D wing who should be nearing his return from offseason knee surgery, Golden State might see enough size, length, and spacing to give this a go. At worst, it feels like the Warriors would be a plucky playoff opponent.”

Buckley’s trade proposal would send Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Buddy Hield, a 2028 first-round pick (top-five protected), and a 2030 first-round pick swap (21-30 protected) to the Brooklyn Nets for Porter and  Highsmith.

Porter isn’t the most well-rounded wing contributor on the trade market, but he does his job at an exceptionally high level. As a dependable three-point specialist who isn’t afraid to shoot over outstretched arms, Porter routinely thrives on the offensive end. 

The Missouri product is playing the best basketball of his career with the Brooklyn Nets this season, averaging 25.7 points per game on 49.1% field goal shooting and 40.1% three-point shooting.

With Porter in the fold, the Warriors would finally possess a legitimate third star who’s a lights-out shooter from beyond the arc, which could prove to be the missing piece for the franchise. 

Porter is an intriguing trade target for the Dubs, to say the least.

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